A SUNDAY event before the Holy week comes in or before the Easter Sunday, is traditionally celebrated by the Church as PALM SUNDAY whether in the Roman Catholic churches or in the mainstream Protestant denominations in which the said tradition become highly ritualized and too much institutionalized by the church in general.
In event, people went to the market if not preparing coming from their own plants, buy those pile of Palm leaves or coconut immature leaves from the markets and bring it to the church during their sunday worship to use it for their processional assembly and wave those leaves into the priest’s and pastor’s holy water’s blessings, believing that this ritual could bring them into a prosperous life, and even more, that this instrument of faith would drag them into a purifed life which transgressions and wrong doing will be washed away as part of their holy week’s penitence.
Quite interesting?
The liturgical practices of the Church and of the Christian folks in general with regards to this tradition, have intensely reached to the peak of becoming commercialized rituals of Palm Sunday, and so therefore, some people without knowing the origin of such rituals, or even people who really don’t have direct knowledge of the said ritual went to the countryside and
gather these yellowish immature leaves of the coconut or Palm leaves, just to sell it out to the populated markets so they can have source of income.
But my inquiry is that, was the Palm Sunday’s Tradition of the church properly explained by its authority? Asked furthermore; was the biblical account of the said tradition on Palm Sunday have something to tell relevance to our present conditions of the community and of the society? Was there any radical meaning of the said Palm Sunday celebrations with regards to the historical context of Jesus Christ vis-à-vis present conditions of our society? Or does the historical biblical account has something to address the crisis that was evident during the rule of Roman Empire in the land of the
ancient Palestine?
Partly if not the whole, these inquiries could be much helpful to dig down deeper the essential meaning of this Christian Festive Celebration, that is, Palm Sunday in order to fnd relevance in relation to the present struggle of the Filipino people as God’s people. In this article, I would not use the term Palm sunday, But I prefer the term “Triumphal Entry of Jesus Christ to Jerusalem” for it is more accurate than the term Palm Sunday. And put further, “A message of Advancing People’s Struggle for Life, Dignity, and Long Lasting Peace!” for in my bias observations, this biblical account has something to say about the status of then ‘Jesus’ Movement’ which had a strong determination to reach the ultimate goal, that is to make it very clear, that the message of the gospel of the Kingdom of God, should and must reach even to the highest set of power of the ruling elites, albeit, Jerusalem for a purpose of none but to put forward into the table of the elites in Jerusalem about the gospel of liberation of God’s suffering people from the countryside which unreachable to the kingdom of Jerusalem.
Why does the gospel of the coming of the Kingdom of God must and should reach to the city of Jerusalem? What is in there? We’ll take a look a little bit on the historical context of Jesus Christ during his time in the ancient Palestine era approximately 4 BCE – 70 CE. The Biblical account of the Triumphal Entry of Jesus Christ to Jerusalem, as prescribed in the gospel according to Mark, after these four events of closed conversations with Jesus and his disciples such as confrontation to the rich man (Mark 10:17-22), explaining his death and resurrection which at the same time reveal the ultimate purpose of going to Jerusalem,(Mark 10: 32-34), the selfish request of the two brothers James and John to be at the privilege offices if ever Jesus succeeded (Mark 10:35-45) and the total restoration of sight of the marginalized blind man who later on decided to follow Jesus (Mark 10:46-52), then finally, the actual event of the Triumphal Entry of Jesus Christ to Jerusalem which led to his brutal death (Mark 11:1-11).
The time when Jesus Christ started his ministry in the province of Galilee, was an era of indirect Roman Empire’s occupation through the Puppetry of Herod’s Palace. Imposing all the political and economical policies from the Roman Empire, that led the people into nothing but hopeless and massive poverty. Persecutions and extra-judicial killings by way of crucifixion of those people trying to resist the foreign Roman rule are quite evident. Under these conditions, God’s people are continuing to struggle against the domination of the foreign rule and the oppressive system imposed by the kingdom of Herod Antipas who was then the direct client state to the Roman Empire.
However, if we have direct evidence on the societal context of Jesus’ during his time, it is much clear, that the social order is obviously at the peak of socio-political and economical turmoil. People’s condition are becoming worst and worst, widespread poverty that led some people including that of Mathew and Judas Iscariot into become state’s tax collectors for their own survival, and the exclusion of disable persons into their own community are the manifestations of dehumanization. On the other hand, while the majority people in the countryside including that of the province of Galilee are struggling for life and dignity, there in the kingdom of Jerusalem, the elites are enjoyed to much privileges economically, politically and luxuriously.
They [the ruling elites] have forgotten the demand of God that is, to serve the people, and so therefore, the account of Mark 10: 35-45 is completely a
reminder not just to the disciples of Jesus but to all, that if we have that privileges like in the kingdom of Jerusalem, divine duties of servant-hood to humanity and to the whole household of God is the mere purpose of these offices in the palace and temple of Jerusalem.
Hundreds and thousands of people are crying for better life during Jesus’ time, hopeless people draw their demand into the Temple by waging their individual rights as human. In fact, prior to the persecution of Jesus in Jerusalem, there was a man called Barnabas who considered Political Prisoner for they are the one waging people’s war against Roman Empire’s domination for the total restorations of their national sovereignty and of their humanity and to end culture of impunity.
The corruption within the circle of the palace of Herod and the Temple of the Jewish religion in Jerusalem are at the insane reality, where even the so called Temple of God “house of prayer”, was used as instruments of commercial and capitalism culture (Mark 11: 15-19) that served only the interest of the few, in which according to Jesus Christ is a violation to the covenant stipulated on the law of Moses. Therefore, the issue of Peace that is base on collective and communal better life and dignifed life are too much cloudy and impossible to be attained.
Resemblance to our present conditions of the Filipino people; We have exactly the same situations as it was the time of Jesus Christ in the ancient Palestine. We have seen so many people who follow faithfully the footsteps of Jesus Christ who proclaim the gospel of the kingdom of God through pronouncing total liberation from neo-colonial domination, and by denouncing the evil systems of the society that gradually kills the humanity. In the countryside poverty become immeasurable, poor people become poorer at all, hopeless people are crying for collective rights, justice and freedom, while on the other side, the high offices of the household of gods and in the palace of the puppets, continue to enjoy too much privileges, corruption is becoming culture, rubbery of human dignity is being systematized by some, and the ultimate will of God albeit, to fully serve and protect the community were totally abandoned and rejected.
Thus, these few people should receive the total curse and judgement from God because of their incompetency to discern and execute their divine duty. Reaching to the Temple of Jerusalem which was the set of power of the ruling elites, as it was interpreted by Jesus is a mandate, in order to consummate the ultimate goal (Mark 10:33-34), that is to bring forth the cry and the plight of the innocent people who were too much victimized by dehumanization into the table of the authorities.
If I may say in bias notion, Jesus Christ have decided to fully confront the very root of dehumanization and He confronted the origin of violence, that is, the palace of the puppet kingdom and the temple of the elites. He clearly believes that reaching the Temple of Jerusalem is the fulfillment of his mission to proclaim the coming of the Kingdom of God. John MacArthur a new testament scholars argues that Jesus was not waging war against Jerusalem but by riding on the donkey, symbolizes the arrival of peace.
However, in my keen inquiry, how can be peace arrived if without discussing confict that emerged? For me, Peaceneither be discussed nor birthed if the root of social conflicts and the cause of social injustices were not properly addressed. This might be the real essence of the said “Palm Sunday” traditions of the church, to go forward, proclaiming the gospel of Advancing People’s Struggle for better life, dignity, and long lasting peace.
Professor Richard Horsley, argues that Jesus Christ was quite concerned the restoration of God’s covenant, and that he concluded, “The focal concern of the kingdom of God in Jesus’ preaching and practice, however, is the liberation and welfare of the people. Jesus’ understanding of the “kingdom of God” is similar in its broader perspective to the confident hopes expressed in then-contemporary Jewish apocalyptic literature.
That is, he had utter confidence that God was restoring the life of the society, and that this would mean judgment for those who oppressed the people and vindication for those who faithfully adhered to God’s will and responded to the kingdom. That is, God was imminently and presently effecting a historical transformation. In modern parlance that would be labeled a “revolution.” [Jesus and the Spiral of Violence, pp. 207]
Finally, Triumphal Entry of Jesus Christ to Jerusalem whether we conclude it as it was successful but a brutal death in the end of his life; We can also put it as a mere fact, that death is not the final end of restoring total humanity, but a beginning of People’s struggle for a better life, People’s cry for a purely dignified and meaningful life, and furthermore, the restoration of unending peace, where justice, freedom, collective and individual rights preserved, and righteousness highly experienced to
all men and women in the society.
Today, impunity and widespread violence is at the heart of our society, so therefore, we must act responsively to counter and confront that violence, so that everyone may live with just and long lasting peace. HAPPY PALM SUNDAY PHILIPPINES! (2012.jvfm.06@gmail.com)
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